Apparatus for delivering mail.



PATENTED JULY 18, 1905.

G. WOLF. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

APPLIOATION IILED DBU.23. 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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wnmsszs: I I i I ATTORNEY No. 794,910. PATENTED JULY 18, 1905.

G. WOLF. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

APPLICATION TILED DEILZS, 1904 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' ATTORNEY Aumnw u mum/w m. moTuuTuocR/mlmx WMIIINCIGK. ac

No, 794,910. 1 PATENTED JULY 18, 1905.

G. WOLF. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

ABPLIGATION FILED DEC). 23, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR mum-1w n GRAHAM m4 "momma/mums vmuwcm n. c

No. 794,910. PATENTED JULY 18, 1905.

G. WOLF.

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

APPLIUATIOH FILED DBO. 23, 1904 4 SHRIMP-SHEET 4.

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UNITED STATES "Patented July 18, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV \VOLF. OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO GOLLA GONDORY, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

APPAFIATUS FDR DELIVERING MAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,910, dated July 18, 1905,

Application filed December 23, 1904- Serial No. 238.073.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUsTAv WOLF, a subject of the German Emperor, and a resident of the borough of Bronx, New York city, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Delivering Mail, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for delivering mail to the upper floors of a building after the postman has distributed the same in proper receptacles on the ground-floor.

The object of my invention is to provide means for effectively ejecting the individual boxes at their respective floors and withdrawing the same to reseat them upon the carrier, where they are to remain at the lower floor until the next distribution of mail.

In a general way my present invention is adapted for use in connection with the apparatus described and claimed in United States Letters Patent No. 718,698, issued to Golla Condory January 20, 1903, and my apparatus described and claimed in my application, Serial No. 238,072, filed December 23, 190 1.

An understanding of my invention will be had by reference to the description and to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective rear view of an individual box for receiving and ejecting 1nailmatter. Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front view of the same. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the carrier with individual boxes seated thereon, one box being only partially reseated as it is withdrawn from a wallaperture. Fig. 6 is a plan view of an individual box seated on the carrier, showing in engagement the means for withdrawing the same. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a single hook employed for the ection of the individual boxes. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a claw secured beneath the carrier and employed for the withdrawal of the individual boxes. Fig. 9 is a vertical secional view showing an individual mail-receptacle on an upper floor and an individual box in upward transit upon the carrier, the

dotted lines indicating the position of such box and the position of the carrier after the ejection of the box at an individual mail-receptacle. Fig. 10 is a similar view upon the downward transit of the carrier. Fig. 11 is a front view of a number of individual boxes seated upon a double-decked carrier, illustrating my arrangement of the eyes upon the said boxes where the carrier has more than one deck or floor. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a double hook used for the ejection of lower-tier boxes. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a claw used for the withdrawal of lower-tier boxes.

Referring to the drawings, in which the same parts are designated by the same numerals, 1 is an individual box having the rear hinged doors 2, comprised of the sides 3 and ends 4. 5 is the front of the box, which is cut away, as best shown in Fig. 2.

6 is the eye secured to the rear of each individual box and having the projecting nose 7 designed to be engaged by the hook 8, while the arms 9 on each side of the nose 7 are adapted to be engaged by the prongs of the claw 10.

11 is the carrier, having the side partitions 12 and adapted to run between vertical guides 13 up and down past mail-receiving apertures 141, located on the upper floors of the building, which apertures are provided with the casing 15.

Referring to Figs. 11 12, and 13, which illustrate a carrier adapted to receive two tiers of boxes, the eyes provided for the lower-tier boxes are indicated at 16, and the wider noses of such eyes are numbered 17 and the wid elyseparated arms 18. In Fi 11 the claws secured to the carrier immediately under the seat of each box are not shown in position; but such. claws for the upper tier are illus trated by Fig. and for the lower tier by Fig. 13, where the prongs are more widely separated.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The carrier 11 is designed to be normally positioned at the lowest floor of the building, where the postman has access for the distribution of mail intended for tenants above to the several respective individual boxes 1. When the mail has thus been distributed by the postman, mechanism (not a part of the present invention, but which is illustrated in my application, Serial No. 238,072, filed December 23, 1904, or in United States Letters Patent No. 718,698) is put in operation to raise the carrier vertically between guides 13 past the upper floors and past the several mail-receiving apertures 14 in the tube through which the carrier travels. At the end of the upward course of the carrier all the individualboxes have been ejected in a manner hereinafter described. The carrier is then lowered through the same path for the withdrawal and collection of the individual boxes, after which the carrier and boxes are returned to their initial position,

, ready for the next distribution of mail.

My present invention relates to the devices for ejecting and withdrawing the boxes at the respective mail-receiving apertures 14.

Beneath each aperture 14 a hook 8 is securedto the wall of the tube. As the carrier with its individual boxes ascends the nose 7 of each box engages with the hook. 8, which is positioned in its path. As the boxes are seated side by side upon the carrier the mailreceiving apertures 14 and hooks 8 at the respective upper floors are positioned slightly out of a vertical line, so as to in each case be vertically above the respective boxes designed therefor. Therefore as the carrier .rises each hook 8 is engaged by the corresponding nose 7. After such engagement further upward movement of the carrier serves to turn the box, with the nose 7 as a center, into the aperture 14, so that it assumes the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 9. The doors 2 open under the influence of gravity and the weight of the mail-matter in the box to permit the mail to drop out within the casing 15. When the carrier has passed the last floor of the building, all the individualboxes have been ejected at the respective mail-receiving apertures. The downward travel of the carrier serves to withdraw all the boxes and reseat them upon the boxes 1 upon the carrier between the partitions 12, I make the front of the boxes 1 somewhat narrower than the rear, so that the entrance between the partitions 12 is rendered smooth and certain.

Where there are many floors in a building equipped with apparatus for delivering mail,

it is convenient to use a carrier having two or more tiers of boxes arranged one directly over another, as illustrated in Fig. 1 1. With that arrangement Iwiden the eyes 16, secured to the lower-tier boxes, so that the noses 17 are considerably wider than the noses 7 on the upper-tier boxes. I also secure to the carrier beneath the lower-tier boxes claws, as illustrated in Fig. 13, having prongs more widely separated than are the prongs of the claws 10, secured beneath the upper-tier boxes. Beneath apertures 14, for which lower-tier boxes are intended, I secure a double hook, as illustrated in Fig. 12, instead of a single hook, as illustrated in Fig. 7, which is employed beneath apertures 14, for which upper-tier boxes are intended. When, therefore, such a double-tier carrier is raised in its path past the upper floors, the noses 7 of the upper-tier boxes will pass through between the prongs of the double hooks without engagement. They will, however, be engaged as intended by the single'hooks above; but when the broader noses 17 of the lowertier boxes reach the double hooks they will engage therewith for the ejection of such boxes in the manner heretofore described that is to say, in the use of carriers havnumber of mail-receiving apertures 14 are located in-a vertical line, the lower of such apertures having a double hook to engage the wide nose 17 and to permit the narrow nose 7 of the upper-tier boxes to pass without engagement. The arrangement of narrow and wide claws (illustrated by Figs. 8 and 13) is on the same principle. The wide claws are secured to the carrier beneath the lower-tier boxes and are adapted to engage the arms 18, which are widely separated by the broad noses 17. Therefore in the downward course of the carrier past mail-receiving apertures 14 the wide claws will not engage arms 9 on the upper-tier boxes; but the wide claws will pass around the said arms without engagement. reach the more-widely-separat'ed arms 18, they will engage the same and withdraw and reseat the lower-tier boxes. Fig. 11 illustrates a carrier with two tiers of boxes; but

several tiers may be employed by a graded arrangement and design of eyes, hooks, and claws, the eyes, hooks, and claws of the low est tier being widest, those of the upper tier being narrowest, while intermediate tiers have eyes, hooks, and noses of intermediate width.

By the employment of my invention the ejection and withdrawal of the individual boxes is made simple and accomplished with comparatively slight expenditure of power.

The apparatus is not expensive or complicated, and by the employment of a graded set of eyes, hooks, and claws, as described, it is made possible to employ a compact and mg more than one tier a corresponding TIO When, however, said wide claws narrow carrier rather than one necessitating the use of a Wide tube to accommodate many boxes placed side by side.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In apparatus for delivering mail, a car rier, and individual boxes for the reception of mail each provided with a hinged door adapted to open automatically for the rea lease of the contents of the boxes.

2. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, and individual boxes for the reception of mail each provided with two hinged coacting doors adapted to open automatically for the release of the contents of the boxes.

3. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, and individual boxes for the reception of mail each provided with hinged doors having sides and ends at right angles.

4. In apparatus for delivering mail, a car rier, and individual boxes for reception of mail, each provided with doors having sides and ends, the ends being adapted to retain or release mail-matter, the sides being adapted to coact with the sides of the carrier to closethe doors.

5. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, and individual boxes for the reception of mail each provided with a hinged door.

6. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, and individual boxes for the reception of mail each having one end narrower than the other to facilitate seating on the carrier.

7. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, and individual boxes for the reception of mail each having one end narrower than the other to facilitate seating on the carrier and a door adapted to be opened on the ejection of said box and closed upon the reseating thereof.

8. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, individual boxes for the reception of mail, and a nose for each box adapted to be engaged by a corresponding hook at an upper floor to eject said boxes.

9. In apparatus for delivering mail, a car rier, individual boxes for the reception of mail normally seated upright upon said carrier, and devices located at upper floors to engage and withdraw said boxes from said carrier during the upward movement thereof.

10. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, an individual box for the reception of mail, and a coacting nose and hook whereby said box is ejected from said carrier at an upper floor, but held in position for withdrawal and reseating.

11. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, an individual box for the reception of mail provided with an eye adapted to be engaged by a device for ejecting said box at an upper floor, and also adapted to be engaged by a device on said carrier for returning said box to the carrier.

12. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier, and an individual box for the reception of mail provided with a two-part eye, one part adapted to be engaged during the upward movement of the carrier, the other part being adapted to .be engaged during the downward movement of the carrier.

13. In apparatus for delivering mail, an individual box for the reception of mail, a carrier provided with means to engage said box during the downward movement of said carrier, and an eye secured to said box adapted to be engaged by separate devices, one for seating, the other for unseating, said box.

14. In apparatus for delivering mail, a car rier having means adapted to hold an upper and a lower tier of boxes for the reception of mail.

15. In apparatus for delivering mail, a car rier having means adapted to receive and discharge individual boxes for mail and having positions for some boxes directly above positions for other boxes.

16. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier adapted to receive and discharge a plurality of boxes one vertically above the other, and provided with a plurality of devices in vertical line for withdrawing boxes from apertures in a tube in vertical line.

17. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier adapted to receive and carry boxes located one vertically above another, and means whereby said boxes are ejected in proper order at different apertures at different levels.

18. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier adapted to the reception of boxes in vertical series, means to eject said boxes in regular order at apertures at different levels in the same vertical line, and means to collect said boxes from said apertures and reseat them in proper position. on said carrier.

19. In apparatus for delivering mail, a plurality of boxes, a carrier having a plurality of stories and seats for said boxes one vertically above another, means secured to each box adapted to engage only a designed ejecting device at an upper floor and means secured to said carrier adapted to reseat each box in its proper seat on said carrier.

20. In apparatus for delivering mail, a carrier adapted to the reception of boxes one vertically above another, means for ejecting lower boxes which are inefi ective to eject upper boxes, and means for collecting lower boxes which are ineffective to collect upper boxes. I

21. In apparatus for delivering mail, a plurality of boxes, a carrier having a plurality of stories and seats for said boxes one vertically above another, a nose secured to a lower box adapted to be engaged by a double hook at an upper floor, a nose secured to an upper box adapted to pass between the prongs of said double hook but to be engaged by a hook at a still higher floor, a claw secured to the carrier at the seat of a lower box adapted New York and State of New York, this 21st to engage arms secured to (siaid lower box biut day of December, A. D. 1904. to ass around arms on sai u er box, an a cla w with c1oser-prongs secureiil to the carrier GUSTAV WOLF' 5 at the seat of an upper .box adapted to en- Witnesses:

gage arms secured to said upper box. M. KAUFFMAN,

Signed at New York city, in the county of FRANK E. ANDERSON. 

